Quote:
Originally posted by nikki1920
It would appear that the dr. performing the transplant ASSUMED that the first set of organs were the correct blood type.. had he done a simple test that could have been avoided. That to me is arrogance. If one has type O blood, they can only recieve type O blood/organs.
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I hope you will pardon the thread crashing for just a moment.
This same discussion is going on in another thread where I posted some expertise on the matter.
It is not the surgeon's job to check the blood/HLA types of organs for transplant. This is done by a combination of a nursing/clinical admin team in concert w/ UNOS (or NMDP, depending on the type of transplant.)
You're absolutely correct in that at least a dozen heads will roll--because that is how many people had to screw up all at once for this horrible mistake.
It is easy to accuse or attack "THE DOCTOR" ie, the surgeon in this case, because he/she is the most visible and plays an obvious key role. However, doctors rely on a wide range of staff so that they are capable of doing their jobs. To say "go over it with the doctor, not "just" the nurse" is to oversimplify complicated medical procedures--and the other people involved. It's much more than just "THE DOCTOR".
Someone else dropped the ball here.
Adrienne (PNAM-2003)